Fan and Shadow
by Ikunasu
Summary: Shikamaru is sent out on a delivery mission, but somehow ends up somewhat happily, but secretly with a troublesome kunoichi. A Shikamaru x Temari fanfic.
1. Chapter 1: Tired, Lazy, and Troublesome

Chapter 1: Tired, Lazy, and Troublesome

A relaxed sigh escaped the 20 year-old shinobi's chest as he lay sprawled out on the side of the hill. Clad in the traditional Jounin vest and pants and wearing the ear rings that the late Asuma-sensei had given him, the ninja relaxed. Hands clasped behind his head, the dark haired young man happily gazed up at the clouds that drifted above him, clearly outlined against the sunny blue sky. Yet, even as he laid there, a shadow fell across his eyes. Pretending not to notice the blond kunoichi behind him, he prayed that she would leave him in peace. After a minute where she stubbornly waiting for his acknowledgement of her presence and he just as stubbornly refused to give it, another kunoichi with short, dark hair stepped out from behind the first and spoke.

"Shikamaru, I'm sorry about this. We know you've just come back from your previous mission, but all the other chuunin and jounin are out on their own missions right now and this is urgent. We really need you to do this one mission. Please?"

After about a minute of silence, a vein in the blonde's forehead was beginning to pulse, but before she could fly out in rage at the lazy jounin, he began to struggle to his feet. "What's the mission?"

"Thank you Shikamaru-" sobbed the relieved Shizune, but was cut short.

"I never said I would take it." The scowling male hastily interrupted.

"Shikamaru," Tsunade finally spoke. "You are going to bring the negotiations of peace between Konohagakure and Sunagakure to the usual information exchange point. This is an B ranked mission, and you will do it."

"But-"

"That's an order."

Silence… _Damn you troublesome women. _He thought. _I should say no- _But then his train of thought was cut off by another idea. _Sunagakure? Isn't that where SHE lives? Maybe she'll be the one whom I meet. Wait- Why am I thinking that! No- no, I'm just tired. I don't __like__ her: she's too troublesome. _

It didn't matter though, he had received a direct order from the Hokage herself; as such, the issue was not up for questioning. "Tch," _Troublesome_… "just give me the scroll."

----------------

The air whizzed by noisily as he shot from tree to tree. After half a day of traveling through the forest, he was almost to the meeting spot. Bored, tired, and somewhat angry at being assigned this mission, Shikamaru's mind was unusually blank. He had not slept for 48 hours now, and the harsh treatment that his body was having to endure was taking it's toll physically and mentally as well. The harsh shrieks and squalls of a startled crow diving away from the tree he had just landed on pulled him out of his trance. He stopped on the branch and shook his head as if to clear his head of whatever was fogging his brain. Looking around he realized how dark it was becoming. _Tch… Not good, I was supposed to be there already_. Luckily, he was not far away. _I hope whoever Suna's courier won't be mad. _He thought forebodingly of an enraged Gaara attacking him, but then chuckled and smirked. That was stupid, Gaara was their Kazekage: there was no way he would be the courier.

----------------

From the bushes, somebody watched as the tall Konoha Jounin jumped lightly down onto the giant rock in the middle of the clearing. After looking around cautiously, he dropped to the grass and stood there, scowling, presumably, but there was no way to tell in the darkness. _So this is Shikamaru? He's probably annoyed that the Suna ninja isn't here yet! _The hidden ninja smirked gleefully.

Indeed, Shikamaru _was_ wondering as to why he was alone- he was late. _Is the other ninja even later? _He didn't notice the wraith-like figure slipping around behind him. He yawned, still tired.

The figure drew closer.

Shikamaru's eyelids drooped, unaware of the figure that was aggressively closing the distance between the two.


	2. Chapter 2: Unexpected Events

Chapter 2: Unexpected Events

Suddenly, any desire for sleep was sent screaming out of his body as he was roughly tackled from behind! In a desperate attempt to free himself, Shikamaru pulled himself into a summersault mid-air so as to crush whoever was clinging to his back, but his opponent felt the shift in his weight and threw their own into it as well, causing the two to go into a full flip, and the Konoha shinobi landed on bottom with a sickening thud. Before the pony-tailed fighter could even jump back to his feet, however, he was almost sliced in half as the large fan that had been barreling down at him stopped barely an inch away from his body and he stared up at the face of his attacker. With a groan, he realized that the attacker was female. _No way, I just got beaten by a woman. Wait a minute, a woman with a giant-ass fan? No way…_

Smirking, Shikamaru spoke up. Ignoring the razor sharp fan blades mere centimeters from his face, he said, "What now, troublesome woman? Still mad that I beat you last time?"

"My ass, crybaby! You resigned."

The fan lifted up from his body, allowing him room to get up, but he just laid there, yawning. After a minute few minutes… "Ok, get up Pineapple-head!" the Suna kunoichi said, fiercely fighting back a giggle.

_Troublesome……_ He thought as he sighed. Stiffly, he rolled back onto his shoulder blades and launched his body into a standing position. He pulled out the scroll Tsunade-sama had given him and turned to face the blonde kunoichi. He was reaching out to hand it to her, but his body went rigid and he froze as their eyes met.

Biting back the shiver of excitement that was suddenly begging to run down his spine, Shikamaru looked down at the sandy-haired kunoichi in front of him. He hadn't seen her in about 6 years, and he secretly wished that it were brighter out to be able to take her image in. Suddenly, he looked away, embarrassed. _Why am I so nervous? _He asked himself incredulously. Shaking himself mentally, he was about to speak when she moved closer and his eyes snapped up to her face. He was suddenly glad that it was still very dark out as he felt his cheeks grow hot.

"Well are you going to give me the freakin negotiations or just stare at me?" Having regained her composure, Temari prompted him with a smirk.

"Wha- Hey, what the hell does that mean?" The Shinobi shot back quickly. "Why on earth would anyone want to stare at you?"

Temari just smirked at him and grabbed the scroll from his hand. She turned her back to him and started to walk off. He just stood there, staring again. "Move yourself, Lazy. We gotta get a fire going before it gets too dark" she called back smugly over her shoulder.

_Get a fire going? What, does she expect me to sleep here with her or something? Wait, not like, __sleep with her__ but, ah whatever. _But upon looking around at just how quickly darkness was falling, he had to agree: traveling in the near pitch-black of the night would not be fun. Still… he had to say something… "Tch… Troublesome woman" Shikamaure scowled at her.

"I HEARD THAT!"

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They had just finished eating their meals from on either side of the fire. Yawning into the crisp night air, Shikamaru laid himself down onto his back. As tired and hungry as he was, he barely talked to Temari as he greedily wolfed down his dinner. Now, with hunger sated, his eyelids drooped shut. He had barely just drifted off when something prodded him in the side. He ignored it. The prod came again. Grunting, he rolled away from it and onto his stomach, eyes still closed. For a moment, it stopped. Then… "AUGHHH! ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!" That 'something' had just slammed into his stomach, lifting him slightly off the ground. Keeled over, and with eyes squeezed tightly shut in pain, Shikamaru wearily asked through clenched teeth, "Can't a guy get some sleep?"

"…"

_Ok, there better be a reason for this…_

"Oi, Nara."

"Hm?"

"Open your eyes"

Groaning, Shikamaru sat up. Pulling his hands away from his hurt stomach, he rubbed wearily at his eyes. Finally, he opened them to let sunlight filter through. "No way… I'm goin' back to sleep-" his mumbling was cut short by the red faced kunoichi in front of him.

"WHAT?! Wake up NOW"

"…"

"I mean it"

"…"

"I swear, if you don't get up, you are going to be in so much pain that- Hey? Are you even…" _Asleep already? What a freaking lazy excuse for a ninja! _Temari was livid. Turning away, she bent over to pick up all of her stuff "Fine, I'm leaving anyways." She said angrily, then more quietly and to herself… "I do wish he would have at least said goodbye, though. He is… well, kind of cute" She smiled upon picturing his face in the sun when he was still asleep.

"What was that Temari? Couldn't quite catch that last part."

The sand kunoichi jumped in horror as her face turned from her usual, healthy, tan complexion to a deathly pale in the blink of an eye, and then continued on to the deepest shade of red ever seen upon hearing a taunting voice behind her. Terrified, she looked back underneath the arm she had just stretched out to grab her forehead protector to see none other that the 'asleep' Shikamaru standing directly behind her. Smugness was scrawled over every part of his body. From the bend in his knee to his hands, thrust deeply into his pockets, to the slouch in his shoulders to the smirk on his face, every inch of tall, muscular body that was angled (attractively) off to her side, was filled with the thrill of victory.

She wheeled around, waving her hands in front of her as she backed away. "Wha- Umm- I-" She stuttered. "No- I- well-"

"Still not hearing it Temari. What did you say?" He egged her on.

"Nothing!" She practically shouted at him. "I didn't say anything!"

"Are you sure?"

"Damn it- YES I'M SURE. Umm… Gaara-wanted-me-back-by-noontime-I-gotta-go!" She yelled the last part incredibly quickly as she disappeared into the trees that surrounded the clearing they were in, headed off in the direction of Sunagakure.


	3. Chapter 3: Darkness

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the names**

**Please Read and Review, the more reviews I get, the faster I will update! **

**Ninja Vocabulary: **Tessen- Temari's fan

Stars (in regard to the Tessen)- The purple dots

Katana- Japanese sword

Senbon- Ninja throwing needles

_Ugoke-_ the Japanese word for "move"

Chapter 3:Darkness

As the sandy haired kunoichi bolted out of the clearing, the shinobi stood there smirking. Slowly, his smirk faded into a genuine smile. Lost in thought, he scratched the back of his head as his gaze slowly lowered. Suddenly, he broke out of his trance, glowering at what he saw on the ground. _Dumb woman… left her forehead protector. Damn…_ Sighing, he bent down and picked up glinting piece of metal and stared at the hourglass-like shape etched into it. He shook his head and jammed it into one of the many pockets in his vest.

----------------

Mentally cursing herself for talking out loud, Temari wiped the sweat off her brow yet again. It wasn't that it was a hot day; a pleasantly cool breeze curled around her body as she bounded from tree to tree, caressing and calming her, and yet… She still could not stop sweating. What had possessed her to say that? She was surprised that the Nara boy was not able to hear her heart hammering against her ribcage when he had spoken to her. A faint red tinge creeped under her eyes as she thought about him again. Looking off to her side in nervousness, she was lost yet again in memory. Her surroundings blurred until she no longer was aware of them: she didn't need to be because her feet knew the way home. Suddenly, the trees around her vanished and instead of the grassy forest that should have transitioned into the sandy Suna desert, she found herself… _in a mountain range? What the?! _"Release!" She shouted, clearing her mind of the genjutsu with a rapid pulse of her own on guard, she pulled out her fan and opened it to the first star as she instantly took in the surroundings. As she did so, a large rock came up from the ground, some 15 yards in front of her and began to take the form of a human. Lashing out with her tessen, she called the howling, slicing winds to her and directed them fiercely at the half-formed enemy, shattering the rock.

"Thank you for cooling me down. Does that little fan of yours do anything else?" Came a voice from amidst the swirling dust and rubble. A chill ran down Temari's spine as a tall, cloaked figure stepped out from the haze. His clothes were as black as darkest night, with the exception of his ANBU-like mask, which she just barely had a glimpse of, was completely white. In one hand, he held a katana that seemed to pulse with some sort of energy that ran up and down the blade, and in the other he held three senbon.

Silence stole over the two as they quickly analyzed the other's stances, but suddenly, the ninja threw one of the senbon straight at Temari's chest. As it flew, she heard a silvery ringing coming from the projectile. _No time to think about that! _She whipped her fan up and around causing a fierce blade of wind to knock the needle uselessly aside, and as she did so, she realized her mistake. _Shit! _  
He had vanished, or so it seemed. He was no longer in front of her anyways. Leaping forward, she twisted around midair to face the trap that she had so carelessly blundered into. "Too slow!" the mysterious ninja cried out as his sword slashed down on too the closest thing to him: the led that had trailed behind the rest of the body in her wild and desperate jump to safety.

Temari screamed! For that split second in which the blade of the katana sliced through her leg, every cell in her body was suddenly twisting and shrieking in pure agony. The electricity that he had run through the metal in his katana lanced through her with full force.

----------------

He had been searching for a while now. Jumping from tree to tree, Shikamaru kept all his chakra sensing abilities as active as he could. _Was that a flicker?! _He asked himself, excitedly. _Nah, probably nothing. It's gone now anywa- _Suddenly a piercing scream wrenched the air. _Temari- and she's hurt!_ "Damn it! I'm coming Temari!" konoha's genius whispered.

----------------

They two fighters separated and the kunoichi landed on the ground with a thud. Temari struggled back up to her feet, biting back the pain that erupted throughout her lower left leg as she tried to put weight on it. "Hah hah ha! Looks like I've broken it too!" she heard her assailant laugh. She could feel her vision clouding, and try as she may, her leg couldn't support herself and she collapsed to the ground to hear a sickening grating sound as bone rubbed against bone. Temari could see the cloaked ninja walk towards her. Laughing gleefully, he was only 30 yards away. 25, he reached back and pulled his hood off to reveal what was an ANBU mask. 20… he stopped walking. _Why…_ she thought faintly. She was scared, unable to move, and fading fast.

He looked around, apparently looking for a source of the new chakra that he had sensed. Suddenly, he wheeled around, lazily firing off another senbon at her neck. _SHIT, ugoke! Ugoke! UGOKE! _She was about to give up when she heard the ping of metal on metal just infront of her. Her gaze was almost completely black as she tried to see who her defender was. _Shi…ka…maru???_

Then, the world fell to darkness, and Temari was unconscious.

**Thanks for reading! Please review, even if it's just, "good job" or "fix the writing mechanics" (which I hope I don't get!), all reviews are appreciated! (Plus, it gives me an incentive to work faster!) Also, I'm looking for editors. Please, I really can't afford to waste time, and will publish my final draft an hour after sending it to any editors. If you want to be an editor, leave me your email address in a review, and I will get back to you. Don't sign up for this if you are not punctual, and remember, DO NOT attempt to sign up as a means of publishing and claiming my work as your own. There will be multiple consequences, including, but not limited to your account on being erased and my discontinuation of the editing program, and maybe even my series.**


	4. Chapter 4: Surprise for the Happy Kage!

**NOTES:**

_Mendoukse_- Japanese for, "troublesome"

Chapter 4 Part 1: Before the Gates of Suna

_Shit. I had to give up my location already… tch, mendoukse…_ Shikamaru started to think. _I gotta take this guy out, and I gotta do it quickly. Temari's loosing blood._ Slipping the kunai that he used to deflect the senbon away from the Suna kunoichi back into his vest, Shikamaru began to rack his brain.

_Temari's no pushover. I better be careful with this guy._ Shikamaru frowned at the strange man who stood relaxed off to the side. The strange man growled in annoyance then came slashing down at Shikamaru, energy sizzling through the harsh metal of the blade, zooming right through the space where the strategist's head had been a split second ago. Shikamaru leapt backwards, pulling Temari's body with him. He knew that he had to get her out of danger and to some sort of medical attention quickly before she lost too much blood. _This is gonna suck…_

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Shikamaru's breath rattled in his ribcage as he stumbled along the path towards Suna. The fight had taken a full half-hour, during which, Shikamaru had been shocked, cut, and almost decapitated as well as nearly impaled by senbon barrages several times. In fact, Shikamaru had nearly been done in when the multiple senbon had been used to generate an electric pulse. Shikamaru looked down at his body, covered in congealed blood and bruises. _Heh… I got banged up pretty well… shit that hurts. Whatever, at least __**I'm**__ still alive. _In order to beat his opponent while keeping Temari out of harm's way, Shikamaru had been forced to use his body as a shield while performing the recently perfected jutsu* that his father taught him a few months ago as celebration for having become a jonin. Although quite painful, Shikamaru's tactic worked, and the crafty ninja

Temari, on the other hand, was proving far more troublesome than the strange ANBU-nin. Even after Shikamaru put to use all his medical know-how to bandage up her leg and treat the bleeding, the woman weighed a **ton**! _Oh yeah, great idea Temari, what the hell are you wearing, chain-mail? _Shikamaru grumbled… The 1½ meter-long solid metal fan did nothing to brighten the lazy ninja's mood.

Step by step, Konoha's top strategist willed himself to drag both his own body and Temari's just a little bit further, meter by meter. This method, as Shikamaru found, worked quite well, and had been working well for the **last three and a half hours.**

Needless to say, Shikamaru was not a happy camper. _It's ok, Shika. Just slap a smile on your face, it'll get better in a God damn, why is the freaking ALL OF SUNA MADE ENTIRELY OUT OF FREAKING SAND? WHO MAKES A VILLIAGE IN A __**DESERT**__ ANYWAY??? WHY THE HELL AM I EVEN HEADING TO SUNA??? THIS WAS A MISSION TO CONVEY A TREATY, NOT DRAG THE KAZEKAGE'S HALF DEAD SISTER HALFWAY ACROSS A DESERT!! But whatever… just keep smiling. _

The light had almost fallen on the desert when a blood-stained, exhausted, and dehydrated Shikamaru collapsed before the gates of Suna. Choking up the sand he had almost swallowed, he twisted his head to get his nose out of the sand, and rested his head in the trough of sand he had just ploughed up. _God, sand freaking everywhere…_ Although still pissed, the last thing that flitted through the Konoha-nin's mind before blacking out was,_ I'm just glad that Gaara's always so understanding, otherwise, the fact that his sister is sprawled out unconscious on my back might make him jump to conclusions…… shit…_

***Hee hee! You don't get to find out _how _this new jutsu works for _at least_ a few more chapters, I haven't decided when or how I'll reveal this.**

**Chapter 4 Part 2: Happy Kage J**

The stack of papers fell to the floor with a dull thud. Gaara was not happy. _Oh Naruto, if you really want the office of Kage so badly, I'll give you my spot…_

The last few days had not boded well for Gaara's patience. Just when the peace between Fire and Wind had almost been attained, the curriers had both gone missing. What was supposed to be a 1½ day mission had left Temari gone for two days and two nights. Although Gaara had rarely been known to lose his cool since taking the office of Kazekage, this situation was certainly taking its toll on the crimson-haired young man.

This had been the third day since Temari had left for her mission, and the Gaara was about ready to send out a search party. _Urg, we have a possible drought, reports of two missing nin, and now, on top of everything, Temari goes missing with the peace negotiations. Kami… _

A sudden rapping outside Gaara's office door brought forced Gaara to open his black-rimmed eyes. "Come in" Gaara growled, but the door was already swinging open. A grin almost broke Gaara's otherwise grim visage. There were only two people who had enough brass to barge in like this: Kankuro and Temari. Actually, Naruto probably would, too, but that was just because he was too ADHD to understand that a solidified ton of sand-pillar barreling down on you is NOT a good thing. Looking up, Gaara saw not the face of Kankuro, Temari, or even the bright-orange-jumpsuit-wearing-ninja, but the new, buck-toothed, freckled and mop-haired messenger boy grinning arrogantly up at the Kazekage.

All suffixes, manners, and respect were thrown to the wind as Shouda whined, "Guess what Kankuro found, Gaaaaaara!"

A split second later, and Gaara had burst through the door, papers, pencils and messenger boy all hurled to the ground in his haste.


End file.
